Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,215,138 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 138,663 crashes, 56,255 fires, and 8,561 deaths.
What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?
A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim — NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.
The database below contains over 2,215,138 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports — when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.
How to interpret what you read
A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:
- One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report — that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
- Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
- Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
- Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.
If you've experienced a defect
File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints — specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened — feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.
Read more from our blog
Showing 22,185 complaints for TESLA
Incident date: Jul 4, 2023
Phantom braking issue- Brakes were automatically applied while driving on open highway with no other vehicles around. Autopilot was in use, speed set to limit of 75 mph.
Incident date: Jul 4, 2023
TRIED TO REMOVE THE TIRES ON MY 2016 FORD ESCAPE TO ADD BRAKE PADS. THE TIRE TOOL IN CAR WOULD NOT FIT ON ANY OF THE TIRE NUTS. THE TOOL WOULD FIT ON THE JACK CONNECTOR. ALSO TRIED 19MM SOCKET. GOOGLE SEARCH SAID A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE HAVING THIS PROBLEM. I HAD THE FORD DEALERSHIP REPLACE MY TIRES 2 MONTHS AGO AND THEY SAID NOTHING ABOUT THE SWOLLEN LUG NUTS.
Incident date: Jul 4, 2023
* Grabby brakes at low speed and light braking. * it makes slow speed braking unpredictable. You push on the brakes and get very little braking, add more brakes and still very little braking, add more pressure and then suddenly you get extreme braking like slamming on the brakes. Brakes are not progressive at low speed. * Yes I've taken it to the ford dealer (Team Ford Lincoln in Las Vegas) at le... Read more
Incident date: Jul 2, 2023
Multiple times the car while on cruise control has slammed on brakes due to seemingly nothing. It's without warning our alert and it is extremely violent. It happens at least once every week.
Incident date: Jul 2, 2023
Not sure where to direct this, so please redirect if this is the wrong inbox. I recently went into a local service appointment to have our passenger seat belt buckle replaced at Acura Concord. We had noticed that the belt was not seating securely in the buckle, and could be removed with minimal-to-moderate effort (would guess 15-30 lbs of force) - certainly not safe in a collision. ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 2, 2023
I live in Fremont, CA. A few hours ago, I was driving from Mountain View to my home. When I was in the left most lane of CA-237 driving at like 70 mph on adaptive cruise control, the car started to brake really hard all of a sudden. There was nothing ahead of me as far as I could see at that point, there was no car close to me in the right lane either, and there wasn’t any kind of sharp turn or ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 2, 2023
Was sitting at a traffic light and a driver pull up beside me on my drive side, and ask me was my car running hot because she saw that it was smokeing, and i told her no it's not running hot and i would check it out at the service station down the street. before i could pull off another car pull up on my passenger side and said that my car was on fire and that i needed to get out before it blows u... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jun 19, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, he became aware that the engine was violently shaking. Additionally, the Cam Phaser warning light was illuminated. The contact related the failure to the Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N03 (Cam Phaser Replacement). The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not included in t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 19, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Lincoln MKX. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the contact heard an abnormal sound coming from the hood of the vehicle. The contact stated that at start-up there was an abnormal sound coming the hood of the vehicle. The check engine warning light and the tire pressure warning light illuminated. The contact then stated that whi... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
Cruse control will sometimes disengage and display these error messages: "Active Distance Assist Inoperative" "Active Brake Assist Functions Limited See Operator's Manual" Cruse control kicks out and the power cuts off abruptly. After some variable time the cruise control function will work again. This is an intermittent problem that occurs without warning. When cruise control set to 65-70 m... Read more
Incident date: May 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Dodge Journey. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she heard a grinding sound coming from the vehicle and the vehicle started to jerk. The contact veered off the roadway and turned off and restarted the vehicle. The contact then stated while driving at slow speeds, the vehicle started to jerk and decelerated while the accelerator pedal was being d... Read more
Incident date: May 3, 2023
LT275/65R20 Goodyear Trailrunner On vacation and started feeling a wobble from the back. Pulled over to see a bubble on the tread and part of wall. Luckily I caught it before it blew apart. Finally found a tire at a dealership in Castroville, tx. Didn’t know they were discontinuing the tires until I got home to have another tire with a bubble which will be on another complaint. On another note m... Read more
Incident date: Jul 3, 2023
I had a head on Collison and the air bags did not deploy and should have.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jul 3, 2023
I was on my way back from Michigan, heading toward Utah, and around Chicago the transmission started giving me issues. I was informed by a transmission company that I would be able to make it out to Utah, but we only made it to South Dakota and the transmission was blown. I had to pay $500 in towing to a transmission shop. The transmission shop informed me that the transmission is in fact blown an... Read more
Incident date: Jun 4, 2023
Multiple phantom breaking events while driving at highway speed. Luckily there were no cars behind us, otherwise there could have been a collision. Caused driver and passenger whiplash and items in car to be forcibly displaced. There were no advance warning. Tried to report to manufacturer but they seem to be closed for the holiday, will try again to report after holiday.
Incident date: Jun 4, 2023
Sunroof exploded while driving on highway. Nothing hit glass just exploded up and out. Glass everywhere
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
No accident. Loud Braking noise. Dealership service department has checked 3 times and say they don’t see anything wrong. They tell me my brakes and surrounding parts are fine.
Incident date: Jun 26, 2023
Leaking fuel line near left rear wheel
Incident date: Jun 26, 2023
When interior gets hot, check starter system message displays and all gauges, air conditioning system, infotainment system and all associated systems become inoperable. This becomes especially dangerous as it will happen while driving.
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
My Expedition has adaptive cruise control. I was driving on the interstate at around 65 mph with the adaptive cruise set. I was raining, so I set it to max range. It worked fine for the first few minutes of rain. As cars started to slow down, mine sped up and put me in an extremis situation where I had to forcibly apply the brakes. It was following the car in front of mine fine at around 55 mph, b... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2023
Full Self Driving suddenly speeds up while waiting at red lights
Crash
Incident date: May 29, 2023
This 2019 Audi A6 purchased on Aug/2020 brand new from an authorized Audi dealer, after several complaints on its breaking behavior it has been diagnosed at the dealer with "Bended Brake Discs or Pressure Plates". Vehicle has been used as a family car an driven in a normal way only by myself. The odometer currently reads 32,165 miles. I believe that the material or workmanship were/are defective.... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2023
Sunday, June 25, when I was driving the car on the road, the engine shut off and the car stopped running. 3 warning lights show on screen: engine light; 48v Battery Service Required; 12v Battery service required. I used the break to park the car on the roadside after that. I tried many times to restart the car, Waited over one hour and 40 minutes it finally started again, the engine warning light... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2023
I am writing to report a safety concern with my Tesla Model 3 vehicle. The issue pertains to a persistent warning message that displays "Front Passenger Safety Restraint System Fault". This warning suggests a potential malfunction in the safety restraint system, which could pose a significant risk to the passenger in the event of an accident. The warning message first appeared in July 2019 and ha... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2023
Brakes take longer to apply with weird noise. There is a weird sound. Brakes are fine not worn. Mechanic says bad abs actuators which should not have failed since should last life of car. There was a recall on this but my car not in the vin search not sure why. All problems described in that recall is what I am experiencing.
Incident date: Jun 30, 2023
Tried to go through dealer they refused to fix
Incident date: Jun 25, 2023
Had cruise control on and “phantom braking” occurred about 10 times on a 22hr trip from California to Oklahoma. Very scary. Car went from 80 to about 40mph in seconds. How is this even possible for Tesla to have these vehicles on the road? I’ve only had the car for 2 weeks.
Incident date: Jun 25, 2023
This is in regard to problems with the lug nuts on my 2016 Ford F150. The truck has approx 31,000 miles. I can no longer use the lug wrench provided by the manufacturer (Ford) because the lug nuts are "swollen", according to the dealership. The dealership refused to rotate my tires because of this issue. They advised Ford would not warranty replacement of the lug nuts. They admitted the lug ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2023
Random power steering loss that happens more often in the winter. There is a recall on my model vehicle for power steering loss but not my particular VIN. I think Chevy needs to widen the range of vehicles since I am experiencing this problem as well.
Incident date: Jun 14, 2023
I have noticed steering wheel stiffness/notchiness when traveling at varying road speeds. The issue is present when turning the wheel left and it takes more force than usual to return the wheel back to the normal position with audible clicks/groans heard when turning/returning the wheel to neutral. During highway driving, it takes more effort than usual to maintain the vehicle within the lane, lik... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
The emergency park brake engages by itself when the vehicle starts and it does not want to disengage. The system is engaging on it's own.
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
The emergency park brake engages by itself when the vehicle starts and it does not want to disengage. The system is engaging on it's own.
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
All of a sudden, a few weeks ago, the ABS, TRAC, BRAKE, and brake warning lights all illuminated on my 2011 Toyota Prius, and the brakes became hard to press. Turns out, this is a known issue with this model of the Prius. DTC C1391 stored in the ECU. There is a defect with the brake booster/brake booster pump, and Toyota issued a Customer Support Program to extend the warranty on these two parts, ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
i have ran my VIN on multiple site and the dealership said the did their inspection on the vehicle. The VIN is showing that there is no recalls on this car. However we noticed things going wrong with the Edge. Even though we bought the car as is, this shouldn't be happening if they did things right. The back up camera saying to contact the dealership, we have to go into the settings and switch fro... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2023
All doors were closed and no warnings on the dash before I started driving and I made sure kids lock was engaged by checking the door lock status inside the vehicle because I had two kids sitting on the back seat with car seat installed. However, while I was driving at 30 mp/h, the door open warning appeared on the dash indicated that the left rear door was not closed and the chime was played co... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 30, 2023
The cat keeps applying brakes on its own even when there is no obstacle on road. Car applies brake on highway when there is no car on road in front or on side road. It is a very dangerous fault and is an accident waiting to happen. I have complained to local service center many times. They call it Fantom Braking and say that Tesla is working on it. If so, all Teslas should be off road till such ti... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2023
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and drive to her residence. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic, where the vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that the housing unit and the thermostat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V338000 (Electrical System, Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the issue. The contact had not... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V338000 (Electrical System, Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the issue. The contact had not... Read more
Incident date: Jun 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Freightliner Cascadia. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 60 MPH, the service brakes were applied without input from the driver. The Forward Collision-Avoidance warning light was illuminated. There was no object in the roadway to activate the feature. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where a diagnostic test was performed. The vehicle was repaire... Read more
Incident date: Jun 28, 2023
I was driving from indio,ca to Orinda,ca on interstate 10-210-5 north and the vehicle had at least 6 phantom braking events when the car was in cruise control and one event the auto pilot was on. There was clearly nothing front of me. This is so dangerous and there will be a bad accident if it isn’t fixed. Please have Tesla fix this.
Incident date: Jun 28, 2023
Vehicle rear frame broke while driving and had towed to Brown Honda in Toledo Ohio to look at it. At the same time Honda recall 23V228 came out from the NHTSA where Honda acknowledged this rear frame issue and under that recall the dealer was required to either repair the vehicle or purchase it from the owner. Brown Honda verbally said the vehicle was non-repair able and they weren't going to do a... Read more
Incident date: Jun 28, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-250. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V337000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts are not av... Read more
Incident date: May 30, 2022
Thermostat and Gasket repair quoted by VW dealership. The coolant is leaking according to their inspection. Car could malfunction unexpectedly and leave me stranded as a road hazard Many more claims in this thread. They quote $1,600 to repair. https://www.reddit.com/r/GolfGTI/comments/drna5m/mk775_thermostat_housing_issue_and_coolant_loss/
Incident date: Jun 27, 2023
Intermittent braking while in cruise control for no reason. Nothing in the way, no cars around. Reduces speeds from 10 t0 50 miles per hour. At time it reduces speeds almost to a dead stop. If another car was behind us, could cause a serious crash. Happens at random times.
Incident date: Jun 27, 2023
I was driving the car on the highway when the engine suddenly stopped. After towing it to the auto mechanic, he informed me that the timing chain was damaged, so the oil pressure went down and the engine was gone. The car never displayed any warning messages. I was driving my father and my sister to the airport and the trucks could have hit us. There was no shoulder and I could hardly pull over on... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2023
Rough idling on start up and engine light came on. After taking car to a local repair shop, mechanic noticed that vehicle was consuming coolant and the engine was cracked. They advised taking it to dealer. Ford dealer confirmed diagnosis. Vehicle had 93304 miles on it and Ford has a Technical service bulletin out on it. Was originally quoted $6,000 to replace engine. After a lot of negotiating wit... Read more
Incident date: Jul 19, 2022
When you turn off engine it tells you to shift to park when it is already in park. Then it continues to give you bells there is a problem. My nephews 2018 equinox has started doing the same thing. Since we just put $1400 in A/C and going back in for A/C we will probably park in since our income can not accommodate more repairs. It only has 53,000 miles on it very well taken care of.